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'Pause' Started in Yemen Campaign

by VOA News

   The United Arab Emirates said Sunday a "pause" in the Saudi-led
   military campaign to retake Yemen's port city of Hodeida is designed to
   allow the United Nation special envoy time to shuttle between the
   warring parties.

   "The Coalition has paused the advance on the city... to allow the U.N.
   envoy to secure an unconditional withdrawal from Hodeida," Emirati
   Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash tweeted Sunday.

   U.N. envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths said last week the Shi'ite rebels
   known as Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition had indicated they were
   willing to restart talks.

   In mid-June, the UAE and Saudi-led coalition launched an offensive on
   Hodeidah to drive out the Houthis.

   Griffiths has said the Houthis are willing to turn over the management
   of the Hodeidah port to the United Nations.

   The port of Hodeidah is a vital lifeline for people throughout Yemen.
   It imports crucial humanitarian relief supplies and is the main entry
   point for commercial goods, including fuel, food, and medicines.

   The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting the Houthis in Yemen since
   March 2015.